IT PAYS TO BE SAFE

No. 14, April, 2010
Drivers' Health

Staying in shape can be difficult for anyone, but it can be particularly difficult for truck drivers who are required to work long hours and are necessarily in a rather confined space.

Despite this difficulty, staying in shape is part of the job qualifications for a truck driver. Section 391.41 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act provides criteria that a truck driver must comply with to be physically able to operate a semi-tractor. Eight of these criteria are outlined below. These criteria are the most frequent that a driver must be concerned with and should act as motivating forces for a driver to make every effort to stay in shape.

The semi-truck driver is disqualified from operating his truck if he:

• has an established medical history or clinical diagnosis of diabetes mellitus currently requiring Insulin for control;
• a current diagnosis of myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, coronary insufficiency or any other cardiovascular disease known to be accompanied by something such as collapse or congestive heart failure;
• a current history or clinical diagnosis of respiratory dysfunction likely to interfere with the driver's ability to control a commercial vehicle;
• a current clinical diagnosis of high blood pressure, likely to interfere with the ability to control a commercial vehicle;
• a current clinical diagnosis of rheumatic, arthritic, orthopedic, muscular, neurovascular or vascular disease, which interferes with the ability to operate a commercial vehicle;
• a current clinical diagnosis of epilepsy or other condition, which is likely to cause unconsciousness or loss of ability to control a commercial vehicle;
• a current diagnosis of mental, nervous, organic or functional disorder or psychiatric disorder likely to interfere with the ability to drive a commercial motor vehicle; and
• the inability to hear a force-whispered voice at less than five feet, without the use of a hearing aid.

Taking care of yourself through regular exercise and good diet will not only keep you in good physical condition, but it will assure you of your ability to continue in your chosen occupation as a truck driver. Thus, this week, it not only pays to be safe; it pays to stay in shape.

How to Recognize a Stroke

This may be a life-saver if you can remember the following advice on how to recognize a stroke. Sometimes symptoms of a stroke can be very difficult to identify. A stroke victim can suffer serious, permanent brain damage, and even death, when people fail to recognize what's happening.

Multiple resources advise that stroke can be recognized by these four simple things:

• Ask the person to smile. If one side of the mouth does not turn up, then this is a sign of a stroke.
• Ask the person to raise both arms. If the individual cannot raise their arms or cannot raise one arm, this again is a symptom of a stroke.
• Ask the person to speak a simple sentence. Once again, the inability to do so or difficulty pronouncing words can be a sign or symptom of a stroke.
• Ask the person to stick out their tongue. If the tongue is crooked or goes to one side or the other, this is also a symptom associated with a stroke.

If an individual has trouble with any of these tasks, immediately call 911 and describe the symptoms to the 911 dispatcher.

Even a bystander now can help recognize a stroke in another individual and can save a life. Please feel free to pass on these simple tests to a friend or loved one.